Dual-Segment Chopstick

ABSTRACT

A dual-segment chopstick includes an upper segment, a lower segment and a coupling element. The upper segment, having a top and a bottom, is a hollow tube and includes a lid having a plurality of clamping portions extended toward an interior of the upper segment. The lower segment also has a top and a bottom. The coupling element is settled on the top of the lower segment and has a fastening set for engaging with the bottom of the upper segment so that the top of the lower segment can be coupled with the bottom of the upper segment by the fastening set to form the chopstick that can be easily assembled and disassembled. When the lower segment is received inside the upper segment, the clamping portions hold the bottom of the lower segment so as to contract the chopstick and reduce a volume thereof.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation-In-Part Application of Ser. No. 11/702,137, filed on Feb. 5, 2007, and entitled “DUAL-SEGMENT CHOPSTICK”, now pending.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a dual-segment chopstick and, more particularly, to a dual-segment chopstick that can be easily assembled for use and disassembled for storage.

2. Description of Related Art

France Patent No. 2876565 provides an eating utensil, namely a pair of chopsticks. However, the disclosed chopsticks are disadvantageous in that they cannot be conveniently stored.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,411 teaches a chopstick realized by telescoping a plurality of tubes. Nevertheless, after being contracted, the chopstick has its tip exposed to the atmospheric environment.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,258,375 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,093,868 propose a chopstick composed of an upper segment and a lower segment telescoped together, wherein a lid having a clamping portion is provided at a top of the upper segment. But the chopstick still has its shortcomings. For example, after assembled telescopingly into the chopstick, the upper and lower segments cannot be easily disassembled for cleaning. Besides, since a bottom of the upper segment has an opening in communication with the atmospheric environment for allowing the lower segment to jut out freely, when the chopstick is put aside, dust or bacteria in the atmospheric environment tend to taint a tip of the lower segment through the opening.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,341,293 and Japan Patent No. 411009417 disclose a chopstick having a lower segment assembled inside an upper segment thereof in a manner that the lower segment is allowed to slide inside the upper segment. However, when the chopstick is to be used, both the aforementioned US and Japan Patents require a user to pull a bottom of the chopstick downward directly by hand while pressing a top of the lower segment. Consequently, dirt and bacteria on the user's hand tend to contaminate a clamping end of the chopstick. Moreover, when the chopstick is put aside, a bottom of the lower segment is also likely to be tainted by dust or bacteria coming from the atmospheric environment through an open bottom of the upper segment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the defects of the prior arts, a primary objective of the present invention is to provide a dual-segment chopstick, wherein a lower segment is easily coupled with an upper segment by a coupling element provided on the lower segment, and wherein a lid settled at a top of the upper segment has a clamping portion for holding a bottom of the lower segment so as to accomplish a chopstick that can be easily assembled and disassembled and is ensured of sanitation.

To achieve this and other objectives of the present invention, the disclosed chopstick comprises:

an upper segment, having a top and a bottom, wherein the upper segment is a hollow tube having an inner peripheral surface formed in an interior thereof, and the upper segment further comprises a lid settled at top thereof for closing the top of the upper segment, the lid including a plurality of clamping portions extended toward the interior of the upper segment;

a lower segment, having a top and a bottom; and

a coupling element, comprising a coupling body settled at the top of the lower segment, wherein the coupling body is provided therein with a fastening set for engaging with the inner peripheral surface at the bottom of the upper segment so that when the top of the lower segment is connected to the bottom of the upper segment, the fastening set engages with the inner peripheral surface at the bottom of the upper segment to form the assembled chopstick for use.

Furthermore, the lower segment can be inserted into the interior of the upper segment in a manner that the bottom of the lower segment corresponds to the top of the upper segment, so that the clamping portions hold the bottom of the lower segment, allowing the chopstick to be contracted for storage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a dual-segment chopstick of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the dual-segment chopstick of the present invention showing an upper segment and a lower segment thereof;

FIG. 3 is an assembled sectional view showing the lower segment having its top coupled with a bottom of the upper segment;

FIG. 4 is a disassembled sectional view showing the lower segment to be inserted into the upper segment; and

FIG. 5 is another assembled sectional view showing the lower segment received in the upper segment and having its bottom held by clamping portions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Please refer to FIGS. 1 to 3 for a preferred embodiment of the present invention that is provided for illustration only and not for limiting the present invention.

In the present preferred embodiment, a dual-segment chopstick primarily comprises an upper segment 11 for being gripped by a user and a lower segment 21 for taking foods, wherein the upper segment 11 and the lower segment 21 can be easily assembled or disassembled via a coupling element 31.

The upper segment 11 has a top 12 and a bottom 13. The upper segment 11 is a hollow rectangular tube that has an inner peripheral surface 14 formed in an interior thereof. The upper segment 11 further has the inner peripheral surface 14 at its top 12 formed with a plurality of protrusions 15 for retaining a lid 41. A plurality of recesses 42 corresponding to the protrusions 15 at the top 12 of the upper segment 11 are provided on the lid 41 for engaging with the protrusions 15 of the upper segment 11, respectively. Besides, a plurality of retaining portions 43 are provided at a periphery of the lid 41 for propping an edge of the top 12 of the upper segment 11, so as to block the lid 41 from sliding into the interior of the upper segment 11. The lid 41 further has a raised holding portion 44 for being held to remove the lid 41 from the upper segment 11, and a plurality of C-shaped clamping portions 45 extended toward the interior of the upper segment 11.

The lower segment 21 is substantially a hollow rectangular tube that has a top 22 and a bottom 23. A peripheral positioning portion 24 is provided on an outer periphery at the top 22 of the lower segment 21. An opening 25 is formed at the top 22 of the lower segment 21 while a through hole 26 is provided at one side of the top 22 of the lower segment 21.

The coupling element 31 comprises a coupling body 32 settled in the opening 25 at the top 22 of the lower segment 21. A fastening set 33 is provided in the coupling body 32 for engaging with the inner peripheral surface 14 at the bottom 13 of the upper segment 11. The fastening set 33 comprises an elastic element 34 and a pushing element 35 while the coupling body 32 is provided with an accommodating portion 36 for receiving the elastic element 34 and the pushing element 35, wherein the pushing element 35 is propped by the elastic element 34 so as to jut out partially from the through hole 26 at the side of the top 22 of the lower segment 21. Particularly, the through hole 26 has a radius slightly smaller than that of the pushing element 35 so that the pushing element 35 is retained in the through hole 26 of the lower segment 21 and the coupling element 31 is thereby positioned in the opening 25 at the top 22 of the lower segment 21. In the present embodiment, the elastic element 34 is a compression spring and the pushing element 35 is a steel ball.

To assemble the chopstick for use, the top 22 of the lower segment 21 is coupled with the interior of the bottom 13 of the upper segment 11, so that the positioning portion 24 at the top 22 of the lower segment 21 is engaged with the bottom 13 of the upper segment 11, thereby limiting a position of the top 22 of the lower segment 21 inside the bottom 13 of the upper segment 11. Meanwhile, the pushing element 35 of the coupling element 31 at the top 22 of the lower segment 21 props the inner peripheral surface 14 at the bottom 13 of the upper segment 11 through the through hole 26. Thus, the upper and lower segments 11, 21 are assembled to form the chopstick.

The coupling element 31, on the strength of the elastic element 34, has the pushing element 35 jutting out from the through hole 26 at the top 22 of the lower segment 21, thereby positioning the coupling element 31 in the opening 25 at the top 22 of the lower segment 21. When the top 22 of the lower segment 21 is coupled with the bottom 13 of the upper segment 11, the pushing element 35 props the inner peripheral surface 14 at the bottom 13 of the upper segment 11 so as to fasten the upper and lower segments 11, 21 together.

To disassemble the chopstick for storage, referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the top 22 of the lower segment 21 is firstly pulled out from the bottom 13 of the upper segment 11, and then the bottom 23 of the lower segment 21 is inserted into the interior of the upper segment 11, so that the bottom 23 of the lower segment 21 corresponds to the top 12 of the upper segment 11. At this time, the clamping portions 45 hold the bottom 23 of the lower segment 21 to fasten the upper and lower segments 11, 21 together for easy storage.

It is to be noted that when the chopstick is disassembled for storage, the bottom 23 of the lower segment 21 is accommodated in the interior of the top 12 of the upper segment 11 while the top 12 of the upper segment 11 is closed by the lid 41, so that the bottom 23 of the lower segment 21 is protected from contamination by external dust or bacteria. Furthermore, the foregoing operations of assembling or disassembling can be performed without touching the bottom 23 of the lower segment 21. Hence, the cleanness of the bottom 23 of the lower segment 21 is ensured. 

1. A dual-segment chopstick, comprising: an upper segment, having a top and a bottom, wherein the upper segment is a hollow tube having an inner peripheral surface formed in an interior thereof, and the upper segment further comprises a lid settled at the top thereof for closing the top of the upper segment, the lid including a plurality of clamping portions extended toward the interior of the upper segment; a lower segment, having a top and a bottom; and a coupling element, comprising a coupling body settled at the top of the lower segment, wherein the coupling body is provided therein with a fastening set for engaging with the inner peripheral surface at the bottom of the upper segment so that when the top of the lower segment is coupled with the bottom of the upper segment, the fastening set engages with the inner peripheral surface at the bottom of the upper segment; wherein the lower segment can be inserted into the interior of the upper segment in a manner that the bottom of the lower segment corresponds to the top of the upper segment, so that the clamping portions hold the bottom of the lower segment.
 2. The dual-segment chopstick of claim 1, wherein a plurality of protrusions are formed on the inner peripheral surface at the top of the upper segment and a plurality of recesses are formed on the lid for engaging with the protrusions of the upper segment.
 3. The dual-segment chopstick of claim 1, wherein a plurality of retaining portions are provided at a periphery of the lid for propping the upper segment and a raised holding portion is formed on the lid for being held to remove the lid from the upper segment.
 4. The dual-segment chopstick of claim 1, wherein a peripheral positioning portion is provided on an outer periphery at the top of the lower segment so that when the top of the lower segment is coupled with the bottom of the upper segment, the positioning portion is engaged with the bottom of the upper segment.
 5. The dual-segment chopstick of claim 1, wherein the top of the lower segment is hollow and has an opening while a through hole is provided at one side of the top of the lower segment, and the coupling element is accommodated in the opening at the top of the lower segment while the fastening set in the coupling body juts out from the side of the lower segment through the through hole, so that when the top of the lower segment is coupled with the bottom of the upper segment, the fastening set props the inner peripheral surface at the bottom of the upper segment for fastening the upper and lower segments together.
 6. The dual-segment chopstick of claim 5, wherein the fastening set comprises an elastic element and a pushing element while the coupling body is provided with an accommodating portion for receiving the elastic element and the pushing element, in which the pushing element is propped by the elastic element so as to jut out partially from the through hole at the side of the top of the lower segment, thereby positioning the coupling element in the opening of the top of the lower segment. 